Written by Jesse Coghlanstaff editorReviewed by Felix Ngstaff editorSEC serves suit to evasive Richard Heart in Finland, but not in person
Latest NewsPublishedDec 13, 2023
The suit was served via an alternate method, as process servers were unsuccessful in contacting Richard Heart in person for months.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it served its lawsuit to Hex (HEX) founder Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, at his house in Finland’s capital Helsinki.
In a Dec. 11 court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the SEC said it served Heart through a substitute service on Oct. 31, which is an alternative method for when a suit can’t be personally delivered to the defendant due to difficulties in locating them.
The process server said they made several failed attempts over nearly seven weeks starting on Sept. 13 to personally serve Heart through calls, texts, letters, and attempts to reach him in person at his Helsinki residence.
The SEC’s notice of service to Heart. Source: CourtListener
The SEC sued Heart in July, alleging he made over $1 billion selling Hex, PulseChain (PLS) and PulseX (PSLX), which the agency claimed were unregistered securities.
It also claimed Heart defrauded investors in the U.S. and overseas by misappropriating at least $12 million of their funds to buy a “555-carat diamond, expensive watches, and high-end automobiles.”
In an early November status report to the court, the SEC said it had not been able to find Heart since Aug. 22 to serve its suit despite knowing he was somewhere in Helsinki.
Related: Terra co-founder Do Kwon will stay in Montenegro until February: Report
While Heart has kept his whereabouts closely guarded, it hasn’t stopped him from remaining active online.
First you'll see #Binance company indictment. https://t.co/0ev9gruw6t The previous tweet was the personal CZ indictment.— Richard Heart (@RichardHeartWin) November 21, 2023
Since the SEC’s Nov. 21 status report, Heart has made over 40 X (formerly Twitter) posts concerning current crypto-related events, such as Binance’s settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in November, Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial and updates on Do Kwon.
HEX is down 81.5% over the past year and 99% since its Sept. 19, 2021, all-time high of $0.5, per CoinGecko data.
Magazine: Crypto City Guide to Helsinki: 5,050 Bitcoin for $5 in 2009 is Helsinki’s claim to crypto fame
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